Judd Legum’s great newsletter featured this look at Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a dedicated MAGA warrior who gladly does Stephen Miller’s bidding:
Stephen Miller, the notorious advisor to former president Donald Trump, suggested on X yesterday that a “conservative state Attorney[] General” should pursue civil and criminal charges against Media Matters. Miller claims that Media Matters committed “fraud” by reporting that X was displaying ads from major brands next to white nationalist and neo-Nazi posts. X has accused Media Matters of “completely misrepresent[ing] the real user experience on X.” But, according to X’s own statement, all Media Matters did was create an account, follow some users, and observe what ads were displayed.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” responded favorably to Miller’s proposal to subject journalists to criminal prosecution, declaring it “interesting.” But the idea that Media Matters’ conduct is legally actionable is absurd, especially since X has already admitted that ads were displayed next to the posts identified by Media Matters.
Nevertheless, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) took Miller up on his suggestion. “My team is looking into this matter,” Bailey posted in response to Musk.
Bailey expanded on his investigation of Media Matters’ reporting in an interview on Newsmax, a far-right cable channel:
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office is tasked in statute with protecting Missouri consumers. That means consumers that participate on social media platforms as well. And so if we have an instance where there was a deceptive or fraudulent business practice where Media Matters was using some sort of coercive or fraudulent algorithms or advertising, that’s going to be problematic on the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
It does not appear that Bailey gave this “investigation” much thought. Media Matters’ conduct did not involve “fraudulent algorithms” or “advertising.” And the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act only applies to “the sale or advertisement of any merchandise in trade or commerce.” Media Matters was not selling anything.
But Bailey’s announcement should not come as a surprise. Bailey has never been elected by the people of Missouri. He was appointed to his position in January by Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R). Since then, Bailey has brazenly exceeded the legal authority of his office to grab headlines. Bailey is running for a full term in 2024 and is seeking to make sure he is not outflanked from the right in the Republican primary.
Read on for more about Bailey. He’s a real piece of work. And unfortunately, there are a lot more like him. For instance, massively corrupt Texas Attorney general Ken Paxton who recently survived and impeachment run by his fellow Republicans. He too says he will be “investigating” Media Matters. (That’s, of course, when he’s not chasing down pregnant women, trans kids and banning books. ) The MAGA movement is fully enmeshed in the right wing legal system now. Even the Federalist Society is a bunch of squishes in their minds. And they’re prepared to go for it.